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Hard work and determination spell success Cospmert® _ espgimiiik"® 14y A/Qy $ \ Pbie j .__ know where he had gone, but he The agent had the solution: go This is thefirSt of a four was not going back. as a tourist. But, he failed to ; part series by Bob Owen So, the young teen set out on . explain the rules. hamte l * t featuring local Cramahe â€" his own to find work and it didn‘t Chris is certain now that the wl _ Cl Township people who take long. f man knew he would not be able to 1 ¢ > Next door to his boarding get a visa to stay longâ€"term in â€" 1 ; camefrom elsewhere £0 house _ there _ was _ a Caga}xlda. C A ) . carpenter/furnituremaker. e travel agent got him a 1&‘ j 1 settle in q:anada A Acrgss the road, they made steel â€" passport valid for three months o \ ) en Chris desks. He went to the steel shop . and was ready to get him a ticket lite t | Theofilopoulos was in first and knocked, but they and visa good for 14 days. The WWMM hh 5) t ‘ § ommlndya ns( his teens living in the _ couldn‘t hear him. catch was that Chris needed a coâ€" ies ~3®@t wh, | o little town of Gianaka, Greece, his The man who operated the. signer; he was underage. fave . f NR s "d\‘ * e h mother cautioned him as he‘ furniture business did and called . Full of excitement, Chris met h 00 R Seathl 1 M 1 prepared t% head off to Athens to _ him over. He was now making $5 â€" his sister Katerina at a bus stop, [RR@@®| _ _ s §\ > *A . 4 | geek a better future: "You will â€" a week. hoping to get her name on the l id Mc ] . Te t n RBBh | bcsree | j have to work hard and long to It wasn‘t enough but he paper. When she refused, the ies 4i o6 ( \ ", w .0 l | earn a living." worked as a waiter with his | agent told the boy he could fix his nB N) alnc io. :) /+ in wale, l t . Many years later, he can look brother at night for another . problem for about $3.50 Canadian. P t dnc o & omm l . * back and realize the value of her _ seyenâ€"hour shift. In 1971, at age 17,, Chris Pn U c A un o\ . advice. _ _/ For two years, that was his . Theofilopoulos was on his way to | ‘ jatth â€"â€"â€"â€" | Now ) a successful â€" routine â€" until he met a relative Montreal. He spoke no English 1 restauranfi’e.ur with almost 30 â€" with a brother in Belleville. and had no idea how far it was Rent ./ . 3e \n : years serving the needs of _ On a visitto Athens, Chris‘s from Montreal to his uncle‘s » kgate “"l‘ffi‘ Colborne and the surrounding .Canadian _ uncle, _ Jerry home in Belleville. He was young. k l ’! area, the man who owns Vito‘s ‘Tsalamatas, asked him if he It would work itself out, he i. has a fascinating life story Of wanted to come to Canada. The â€" trusted. | $ s. 7% determination and drive to 17â€"yearâ€"old said, "Sure." Customs was a linguistic Ni succeed. _ | Together, they went to the disaster. He didn‘t know where . [R Cld EPS jop : Chris grew up the second Canadian embassy to fill outthe he was going and the agents | | youngest in a family of five kids. papers. A month later, a letter couldn‘t speak Greek. A female T To tm His parents were poor, Greek came advising Chris his employee took him past the entry wl | farmers. He finished his application had been rejected. At agents and told him to wait while t P kss elementary, school education but . 1g, he was required to join the she sought a translator. Te itg ipino® there was no opportunity for Greek military for mandatory But, Chris didn‘t understand more. There was no money. He â€" training. There was no way Out. her. When she failed to return, he Pran ; wl had to make a living. Not believing that _his assumed he had arrived and Ns ied on K t nnen o n l %?nvfiz ggflti‘;the city of Athens â€" impending military service was _ walked into the arrivals area, his e enb JAn cides brofierl ded hi the cause of his rejection, he . passport unstamped. Pausing between orders, Chris Theofilopoulos leans against his pizza â€" An older bre anded him applied for Canadian papers â€"_ He had arrived â€" but the | oven Vito‘s Apple Country Restaurant in Colborne. â€" ?figpflfitt}]nggrfiloefl%‘u?'hotlsmrlg again with the same result. 1(;,x:;madian government didn‘t $ eRA is tirst week, Outside the embassy, there ow it. P x waly Nt 1c1:n?sasl-iil‘é$1xiltthe equivalent of 50 was a travel agg.nfiyb The gltsinflgl hg WitsE (ghris caught a thfi,\;g;}? 8 tSha:!maxlié;in sg&tphlf i&gflg{lt’ garisistite toola i. & 4 proprietor recognized the boy on cab to the train station. He didn‘t i j 4 : /\ }?s brotherlthreatened him, his second visit and told him to â€" know how far it was to Belleville, g(ilnrtia;ctlsrfil{11srgrr:1c;§lg§r%h0:1;é mel-tI %anvgi?}?gtlrl:;ll}al:tgail Greel: s former employer demanded to _ come and see him. but he knew he could go by train. gentleman refused to accept who cllzecked with immigr:t?gr? Es | payment for the call and then . there was an amnesty. s took him to a cab driver who Chris was now legally in spoke Greek. Canada. Soon after, he sponsored | Chris hoped this might be his â€" his little sister Voula to come to | ride to his uncle‘s home. But the Canada. | cabbie said the fare would be And, he was back in the | $115. It was all Chris had; it was â€" Belleville area managing two Mr. | too much, and what if his Uncle Sub outlets. : | Jerry turned him away? There Once more, his life was about | | would be no money for his return _ to take a turn â€" this time toward | trip to Montreal. Colborne. | Chris then learned about the The manager of Dixie Lee P | other side of life. Chicken wanted to meet Chris‘s | â€" The cabbie offered to take him sister. They,’gfi‘dt’i became an item. back to buy a ticket to Belleville. Chris‘s new brotherâ€"inâ€"law, ; When Chris noticed his wallet Frank Georgatos, knew he | > was back in the car, the cabbie couldn‘t support a family on his \:) \ went back â€" and took some of the wages and boughtâ€"Yito‘s in \}j ) money. Brighton. He suggested to Chris